Critics take aim at big tech’s satellite constellations
Hi everyone, I came across this article about how big tech’s next communications tug-of-war is happening at an extraterrestrial level: https://www.geekwire.com/2021/critics-take-aim-spacex-starlink-amazon-kuiper-satellite-constellations/ I’m not clued into this subject enough to offer expert insights, but to me, it seems like big tech’s new race for satellite communications dominance could take our discussions about communications conglomerates’ antitrust concerns […]
Shaw opts out of participating in 5G airwave auction amid acquisition deal with Rogers
Hello class, Shaw Communications Inc. has decided not to participate in the June 15 auction of the 3,500-megahertz spectrum which are airwaves used to deliver wireless signals. This may open more opportunities for smaller telecommunication companies to compete in the 5G market. This decision may be due to the fact that Shaw has struck an […]
Denial of Parler’s requested preliminary injunction against Amazon Web Services (presentation background reading)
Amazon Web Services, the internet giant’s web hosting and cloud computing division, terminated hosting of the right-wing “Twitter alternative” shortly after the Dec 6 attacks on the US Capitol. Failure to moderate the violent content violated AWS’ terms of service. Parler filed for a preliminary injunction to reinstate services until they could proceed with a […]
US Supreme Court permits FCC to relax media ownership rules
Hi everyone, Last week, the US Supreme Court ruled in favour of allowing the FCC to loosen ownership restrictions on local media, partly on the grounds that the long-standing restrictions no longer served the public interest. You can read the article here: https://www.reuters.com/article/BigStory12/idUSKBN2BO5S4 On one hand, one could argue that the restrictions that were relaxed […]
UK anti-trust probes Facebook practices
Hello Class, I was compelled by a short article in today’s Vancouver Sun about how the UK’s competition regulator has begun investigating Facebook’s practices. While looking further into this issue, I encountered a report posted in SIlicon Angle by MARIA DEUTSCHER. In summary, Facebook is being investigated over its alleged anti-trust practices. One concern by […]
Drawbacks of Automated Web Content Moderation
DoorDash Spent $5.5 Million To Advertise Their $1 Million Charity Donation byu/bubblydeadpan innottheonion This is a little bit of a throwback to the week of the Super Bowl but I thought that this event was a little too juicy to pass up writing on for a post. For their Super Bowl ad, DoorDash spent $5.5 […]
Google announces its intention to move away from all forms of third-party identifiers
Hello Class, Earlier this week, Google announced that it intends to move away from third-party cookie trackers in response to an “erosion of trust”. This move will fundamentally impact digital advertising. Where current practices allow companies to track a user’s online activity to the extent of collecting their personal information, Google now strives to achieve […]
Soundcloud’s new royalty model
Soundcloud announced today its new ‘fan-powered royalties’ model. Unlike the current industry model which pools revenues and pays based on total number of streams, the new fan-powered model distributes royalties based on revenue from fans/users directly to the artists that they streamed. Prior to reading about this I was not aware that there was such […]
Australia passes law forcing Google and Facebook to pay news publications
Building on the earlier post on this topic, I wanted to keep talking about this because it is interesting and will probably influence Canadian legislation. For context, some highlights from the c net article linked below: – Following a new Australian bill, “Google and Facebook are required to negotiate licensing agreements with publishers for the […]
California district judge allows state to preserve net neutrality
https://www.theverge.com/2021/2/23/22298199/california-net-neutrality-law-sb822 Net neutrality took a beating in the states a few years ago, and though California largely repaired the law at a state level it was prevented from enforcing it by various lawsuits from the telecom industry. A new decision by district judge John Mendez just denied the final injunction standing in California’s way. Whether […]
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